The Distant Future...

Letter from a student who liked you.

Hello Mr. Thiessen,

My name is Slarty Bartfast and I was in your class 10 years ago in grade 10. You changed my life. I wasn't always a fan of math. In fact I hated it! After your class I was inspired. You showed me how math could actually be and taught. Your student centered lessons really got me involved and had me understanding the material in no time. It made me continue onwards into grade 11 and 12 and beyond.

You most likely recognize my name because I've been on the news constantly this past week. The man who successfully made the calculations for the first intergalactic warp drive system. It was actually my PHD paper.

Thanks Mr. Thiessen. Because of you, mankind can now travel to the stars.

- Slarty


Letter from a student who hated you.

Mr. Thiessen,

My name is Troy McClure, you may remember me from high school grade 10. Math, I hated it and due to that I didn't give you a chance when I walked into your class. Math was tough, equations and equations of nonsense. Plug this number into x and sub that number into y. It made no sense and that's how I wanted it to stay.

During your lessons you'd often talk about understanding this, and understanding that. I didn't care about any of that. I knew that once math was no longer a prerequisite I would no longer enroll into it.

I didn't want to discuss ideas in groups or do any projects. The bare minimum to pass, that's all I wanted. This was the last mandatory year for math and once I finished high school I was set to pursue my future career in TV broadcasting.

Which is what I did. No thanks to you,

Troy McClure


My hopes and worries...

I hope to be a teacher who passes on an understanding of math to my students. I didn't fear math, I enjoyed it, and I hope I can pass that feeling on to my students by being a effective and engaging teacher. However, I know there will be students who will never like math and I hope I can inspire them enough to get them through the courses.